Bayern Munich's Mats Hummels pledges one per cent of wages to charity
Bayern Munich and Germany defender Mats Hummels has become the second high-profile footballer to pledge one per cent of his wages to charity, and has called on others to follow suit.
The 2014 FIFA World Cup winner joins Manchester United's Juan Mata in donating money to the Common Goal initiative - a fund that supports football projects for disadvantaged children worldwide.
"As soon as I heard of Common Goal, I knew this was a chance for football to improve our world, and I wanted to be part of it," Hummels explained. "I feel we could be doing more to connect the increasing revenues in football to some kind of deeper purpose. This is what struck me about Common Goal. Through the 1% pledge, we're building a bridge between football and its social impact around the world.
"I believe that Common Goal can make a real and lasting impact. I’m putting the call out to all my fellow footballers: join Juan and me and help to take the game to the next level."
Mata, who is hoping to create a 'Common Goal starting XI', made up of 11 players who each donate one per cent of their wage to the charity, is delighted to have Hummels' support.
"I don’t actually know Mats personally, so I was pleasantly surprised when he contacted me to talk Common Goal," he said. "He really gets what we're trying to achieve and is the perfect team-mate to have on board at this early stage. The fact that a World Cup holder – at the peak of his career with one of the biggest clubs on the planet – has chosen to make the pledge shows the power and magic of what we’re doing.
"The reception to Common Goal has been amazing so far and I have no doubt Mats' involvement will inspire more players to join."
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Hummels and Mata's Common Goal contributions will be pooled into a collective fund managed by Berlin-based non-governmental organisation streetfootballworld.
"What we have here is two star players from different leagues and different countries joining forces in the name of social change," said streetfootballworld CEO Jürgen Griesbeck. "It's an unlikely alliance that highlights the appeal and potential of what we're doing."